Detachable helmet liner suspension harness



June-24, 19.6 9 A .STLS'HEARS E# AL I 37,451,066

`DETACl-XABLEl HELMET LINER SUSPENSION HARNESS Filed Oct. 19, 1967 ZM ,QO'QMW ATT'Y.

United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 2-3 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A detachable suspension harness for a helmet liner or safety hat. A plurality of snap-acting safety clips connected to the harness are releasably engageable with a plurality of headed studs mounted on the inside of the shell. Each of the clips includes a backing plate attached to the harness and a bifurcated portion overlying the backing plate and connected thereto through a reversely bent bite. The bifurcations deline and open-ended, contoured, stud shank receiving slot and cooperate with the backing plate and the bite to define a stud head receiving chamber having an entrance constricted by bosses depending from the bifurcations toward the backing plate. When the clips are pressed onto the studs, the bifurcated portion snaps in both a lateral and axial direction and the stud heads are captured in the chamber between the bite and the bosses.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The invention relates generally to helmet liners or safety hats and more particularly to those having :a removably attached suspension harness.

Description of the prior art For many years it has been the practice in the art to permanently aiix (usually by riveting) the suspension harness to the shell of a helmet liner or safety hat. While it has long been recognized that permanent attachment rendered cleaning, repair and replacement of the harness diicult, time consuming and costly, both the major commercial users (the mining and construction industries) and lparticularly the military have been extremely reluctant to adopt hats or liners wherein the harness is detachable for fear of compromising on safety. In other words, unless the fastener arrangement utilized to provide the removal capability met or exceeded the rigid safety standards specified for the permanent attachment, it was considered totally unacceptable, especially by the military where cost and inconvenience must be of secondary importance for obvious reasons.

Laboratory and eld tests conducted to date by the U.S. Army Materiel Command have indicated that the removable harness disclosed herein satisfies the military specifications and it is expected that the harness will be adopted for use with infantrymens helmet liners.

The best known patented prior art is U.S. Patent No. 2,769,175 to L. P. Barker, Jr. In the Barker disclosure the radial cradle straps are threaded or looped through slots in the safety clip plates, which slots are relatively remote from the stud engaging portion of the clips. In addition, the stud heads are bulbous and only slightly enlarged with respect to the stud Shanks and are, therefore, spaced considerably from the bend in the clips joining the plates to the forked tongues.

One Iwill appreciate that a soldier will often utilize his helmet liner as a basket for transporting small arms ammunition or other equipment or personal belongings utilizing the crown of the suspension harness as a handle. The crown of the harness is grasped by the hand and pulled outwardly away from the crown of the shell and thus imparts a twisting or pivotal movement to the clips. This tends to pull the clips both axially and radially away from the studs. Thus, one disadvantage of the Barker arrangement is that the aforementioned spacing of the straps from the studs and the stud heads from the -bends in the clips in effect renders the clip plate a lever arm which tends to pivot about the bend (which acts as a fulcrum) thereby directing more of the pull in a radial as opposed to an axial direction with respect to the stud Shanks and increasing the likelihood of disengaging the clips from the studs or damaging the clips by bending them out of shape or at least to a point where the vertical spring action in the forked folds is substantially reduced. Further, Barker, by bending the forked ends of the clips away from the plane of the back plate, creates a camming surface which also enhances the tendency of the clips to pivot free of the studs when the harness is pulled out of the liner as aforesaid. Conversely, in the present disclosure, the xed and adjustable crown straps are secured to each other and to the clips in axial alignment with the stud shanks and the edges of the enlarged stud heads lie immediately adjacent the bend or bite of the clips. Ergo, the pull imparted to the clips is almost entirely parallel to the stud axes and the enlarged stud heads provide an increased bearing surface which greatly inhibits any bending of the backing plate away from the stud engaging portion. In addition, the bosses on the bifurcated portion which depend toward the backing plate and lie opposite the edges of the stud heads provide an additional safeguard against accidental disengagement, and bending or setting is prohibited by the tabs of the present clips which are connected to the bifurcated portion and underlie the backing plate.

In another aspect the forked ends of the Barker clips simply straddle the stud shanks and do not snap laterally when the clips Iare pressed onto the studs. In the present disclosure the slot in the bifurcated portion is contoured to provide for snap engagement of the stud Shanks which results in a more secure attachment and also provides for a distinct audible click which notities one that the clip and stud are positively engaged.

As heretofore mentioned, the most important design consideration is safety. With respect to the harness attachment, this means that the fastener combination must be capable of withstanding the reactive force of repeated, direct, instantaneous blows (for testing purposes usually in excess 'from 8 lbs. dropped from a height of 5 feet, i.e. 40 ft. lbs.) applied to the crown of the liner without failing or releasing. Since webbing for the straps and sheet metals for the fastener components which are capable of withstanding forces of this type and magnitude have been well known for some time, the challenge is to make maximum use of the available materials in the design and orientation of the fastener components. To this end one must recognize that the Barker disclosure wherein the clips and studs are so oriented that the force reacting to impact on the safety hat will tend to pull the forked fold of his clips against the studs is an important contribution to the art and this `feature has been incorporated in the harness disclosed herein. However, the present device is seen to constitute still a further improvement over the Barker teaching in that the considerably enlarged head of the studs lie immediately adjacent the bite or bend in the clips as earlier mentioned. Thus, in the Barker disclosure the force of impact transmitted through the straps harness and consequent injury to the wearer of the safety hat. In the present invention any failure in the bifurcated portion of the clips will result in an immediate engagement of the stud head and the bite which, in effect, relieves the pressure on the bifureated portion and arrests further failure in that section. Thus, the present arrangement introduces an additional safety feature which further reduces the likelihood of the fasteners releasing or becoming irreparably damaged when the liner of safety hat is subjected to impact.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Novelty is seen to reside in :a helmet liner or safety hat having a shell, a plurality of studs attached to the wall of the shell, each of the studs including a shank and an enlarged head, the head being spaced from and lying generally parallel to the inner surface of the shell, a suspension harness including a peripheral, fixed strap and a plurality of adjustable cross straps connected to the fixed strap and forming a crown, and a plurality of safety clips for connecting the suspension harness to the studs, each of the said clips comprising a backing plate attached to the suspension harness, a connector portion overlying said backing plate and joined thereto by a reversely bent bite portion, and a bifurcated portion joined to said connector portion and overlying said backing plate and defining a slot, said slot having an open end remote rfrom said bite portion not narrower than the stud shank, an intermediate portion not Wider than the stud shank and a shank receiving portion not substantially wider than the stud shank, said backing plate, connector portion, bite portion and bifureated portion cooperating to define a stud head receiving chamber, portions of the bifurcations defining said slot and portions of said backing plate being spaced a distance not greater than the thickness of the stud head thereby providing a constriction in said chamber, whereby said bifureated portion snaps in both a normal and axial direction with respect to the axis of the stud shank when said clip is pressed onto the stud and the stud head is captured in said chamber between said bite portion and said constriction.

One will more fully appreciate the contribution to the art of the present invention by having reference to the detailed description which follows in conjunction with a viewing of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view of a helmet liner and detachable suspension harness according to the invention looking into the shell of the liner towards its crown;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a safety clip according to the invention with the stud head depicted in phantom to ilustrate its size and location relative to the clip when the stud and clip are connected as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The assembled helmet liner-suspension harness combination depicted in FIG. 1 includes a dished liner shell y1 usually formed of metal or laminated plastic having a plurality o-f circumferentially spaced studs secured thereto and extending inwardly of the internal wall thereof, and a plurality of web straps including a fixed peripheral strap 2 and adjustable cross straps 3, the intersection of which forms a crown for supporting the liner on ones head and absorbing the shock of la blow on the liner, the fixed and cross straps being overlapped and secured to one another and the shell by a plurality of spring clips 4 which snappedly engage the studs.

As best seen in FIG. 2, each of the studs includes a hollow, circular shank 5 having an inturned lip 6 at one end and an enlarged, flat, circular head 7 at the other end. The studs are secured to the shell 1 by rivets 8 which pass through appropriately sized and spaced Open- 4 ings therein and are staked over the inturned lips 6. It is contemplated, however, that the studs might be welded or otherwise secured to the `wall of the shell without perforation of the wall.

The safety clips 4 are of springy, sheet metal construction, for example, passivated stainless steel, and each includes a backing plate 8 having an apertured boss 9 formed generally centrally therein, a connector portion 10 spacedly overlying the backing plate and joined thereto by a reversely bent bite 1\1, a bifurcated stud engaging portion 12 joined to the connector portion and spacedly overlying the backing plate, sides 13 joined to and depending from the bifurcated and connector portions at least to the plane of the backing plate, and a pair of tabs 14 extending inwardly from the sides beneath and slightly spaced from the surface of the backing plate remote from the bifurcated portion 12.

The bifurcations 12 define an open-ended stud shank receiving slot having an entrance 15 wider than the diameter of the shank, an intermediate section 16 narrower than the shank and an enlarged communicating portion 17 having a diameter slightly greater than the shank.

The backing plate 8, connector portion 10, bite 11 and bifurcated portion 12 cooperatively define a stud head receiving chamber 1S the entrance to which remote from the bite is constricted by a pair of bosses 19 which depend from the -bifiurcations toward the backing plate and `are normally spaced therefrom a distance less than the thickness of the stud heads. The end 20 of the backing plate A8 remote from the bite is bent away from the plane of the bifurcations 12 to provide a ramp-like lead-in to the chamber 18. The connector portion 10 between the rear of slot portion 17 and bite 11 is sheared at 21 to provide increased lateral liexibility and snap action in the bifurcated portion.

The peripheral strap 2 and cross straps 3 are secured to each other and to the clips 4 by eyelets 22 which pass through aligned preformed openings in the straps and are crimped over the rim of the apertured bosses 9 in the hacking plate 8. A plurality of sharply pointed rosettes 23 are struck from the backing plate 8 about the periphery of the bosses 9 and these rbite into the webbing material of the cross straps 3 to prevent any accidental rotation of the clips about the eyelets.

The suspension harness is readily installed in the liner shell 1 by successively grasping the harness adjacent the end of each of the cross straps with ones thumb and index finger and thereafter guiding the ramp 2t) of the clip over the face of the stud head 7 remote from the shell and pressing sharply toward the crown of the shell to cause the stud shank to seat in the slot portion 17 and the head to seat in the chamber 18. As the stud proceeds into the clip the bifureated portion 12 snaps in both a lateral direction, due to the interference between the stud shank and the intermediate slot section 16, and an axial direction, due to the camming action of the stud head passing between the bosses 19 and the backing plate 8, with respect to the stud shank and a distinct audible click is heard which informs one that the clip is fully seated on the stud. As best seen in FIG. 2 the stud shank is snappedly seated in the stud portion 17 and the enlarged stud head is captured in the chamber 18 between the bite 11 and the bosses 19 with a portion of the edge of the head lying immediately adjacent the bite and the bosses overlying opposite edge portions of the head. As earlier mentioned, the open end 15 of the slot between the bifurcations 12 faces toward the crown of the liner shell. Thus, when the harness is normally tensioned by the wearers head toward the crown and particularly when the crown is subjected to a blow, the reactive force is resisted by the rear edge of the slot portion 17 bearing against the stud shank and, if the connector portion should begin to buckle or spread, by the immediate engagement of the stud head against the bite. Further, when the crown of the harness is pulled away from the shell, most of the pull on the clips is exerted in a direction normal to the stud axes and any bending or setting of the clips is resisted by the tabs 14 and the engagement of a relatively large surface area of the backing plate :by the stud heads.

When one definitely wishes to remove the harness from the shell, the fixed strap portions adjacent each of the cross straps are successively grasped -by the forengers of each hand with the thumbs lbraced against the outside rim of the shell. Then :by simply curling the fingers u-pwardly towards the shell rim the clips are snapped free of the studs.

`One should clearly understand that the foregoing detailed description is to be interpreted in an illustrative `as opposed to a limiting sense in that it is contemplated that the subject matter thereof might be altered or modified, for example, by molding the clips from a strong, durable` synthetic plastic, without departing from the scope of the invention which is best dened by the following claims.

We claim:

1. A helmet liner or safety hat comprising a shell, a plurality of generally circular studs, means `mounting said studs on the wall of the shell, each of said studs including a shank and an enlarged head, said head lbeing spaced from and lying generally parallel to the inner surface of the shell, and a suspension harness including a peripheral, fixed strap, a plurality of adjustable cross straps overlapping the fixed strap and forming a crown, a plurality of spring clips, and fastening means securing said cross straps to said fixed strap and said clips to the suspension harness, said clips connecting the suspension harness to the studs, each of said clips including a backing plate having an opening receiving said fastening means, a connector portion overlying said ibacking plate and joined thereto by a reversely rbent bite, and a bifurcated portion joined to said connector portion `and overlying said `backing plate and defining a slot, said slot being opposite said fastening means receiving opening and having an open end remote from said bite portion not narrower than the diameter of said stud shank, an intermediate portion not wider than the diameter of the stud shank, and a stud shank receiving portion not substantially wider than the shank, said backing plate, connector portion, 'bite and bifurcated portion cooperating to define a stud head receiving chamber, portions of the bifurcations dening said slot and portions of said backing plate being spaced a distance not greater than the thickness of the stud head and thereby providing a constriction in said chamber, said stud shank being snappedly seated in the shank receiving portion of said slot and said stud head being snappedly seated in said chamber between said constriction and said bite, the edge of said stud head lying immediately adjacent said bite under normal conditions of usage.

2. A hel-met liner or safety hat according to claim 1 wherein the major diameter of said stud heads is substantilally greater than one half the width of said backing p ates.

3. A helmet liner or safety hat according to claim 1 wherein each of said clips lincludes a plurality of sharp projections extending from the surface of said backing plate remote from said connector portion, said projections being in lbiting engagement with said suspension harness.

y4. A helmet liner or safety hat according to claim 1 wherein the backing plate of each of said clips has a ramp portion extending laterally -beyond said bifurcated portion and bent away from the normal Iplane of said bifurcated portion, said ramp portion providing a lead-in for easy snap seating of said stud head in said chamber.

5. A helmet liner or safety hat according to claim 1 wherein each of said clips includes side portions joined to said connector portion and bifurcated portion and extending therefrom at least to the plane of said backing plate.

6. A helmet liner or safety hat according to claim 1 wherein each of said clips includes at least a pair of tabs connected to one of said bifurcated portion or said connector portion, said tabs being bent under the surface of said backing plate remote from said bifurcated portion to maintain the end of said -bifurcated portion remote from said `bite in close proximity to said backing plate.

7. A helmet liner or safety hat according to claim 1 wherein the connector portion of each of said clips is sheared in a direction parallel to the axis of said slot to provide improved snap action in said clips.

8. A helmet liner or safety hat according to clai-m 1 wherein the constriction in the chamber of each of said clips is provided by a plurality of bosses for-med in said ybifurcated -portion and extending toward the plane of said backing plate.

9. A helmet liner or safety hat according to claim 1 wherein said fastening means is an eyelet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,519,380 12/1924 Kochanski 24-222 2,813,270 11/1957 Barker 2-3 2,930,094 3/ 1960 Shears 24-222 3,127,615 4/1964 Aileo 2-3 JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 24-222 

